EA has opened a new DICE studio in Los Angeles. The office currently plays home to EA employees who worked on the Medal of Honor series while at Danger Close, as well talent recruited from outside the company, and DICE general manager Karl-Magnus Troedsson told the Wall Street Journal that an additional 60 members of staff are expected to come on board by the end of 2013.
Troedsson said of the decision to open the new LA office: "There is an extreme talent pool over [there] that we want a part of." Referring to Activision's Southern California studios Infinity Ward and Treyarch, which develop the Call of Duty series, he added: "It's no secret that our main competitor is there."
Along with Visceral Games and BioWare, Sweden-headquartered Battlefield maker DICE is set to develop Star Wars games following the recent agreement of a multi-year deal with Disney. Troedsson said DICE’s new Star Wars game could be an entirely new experience or a fresh entry in an older Star Wars game series. "For me it's a boys dream come to life, I've grown up with Star Wars," he added.
Earlier this month, alongside the publication of its fiscal year 2013 financial results, EA confirmed company wide layoffs of approximately ten per cent, affecting about 900 employees. Former EA CEO John Riccitiello resigned from the publisher at the end of March.
